2013 "Rapley Trail Vineyard James Thomas Block" Estate Pinot Noir

The Rapley Trail Vineyard (avg. elev. 1650 ft.) was planted
in 1981, consisting of six contiguous acres of Pinot Noir vines on
our Estate’s rugged southeastern slopes. It has long been the
backbone of our past “Estate Reserve” Pinot Noir, but beginning in
2002 we have begun to bottle portions of the vineyard separately.
This “deconstruction” displays the unique aspects and interactions
of soil and climate that account for grapes whose flavor is a
direct product of where they are grown; this is terroir.

The James Thomas (formely 'M') block sits just above Henry
Ayrton’s Block (former ‘B’ Block), moving from the bottom to the
top of the Rapley Trail Vineyard. The soil is shallow and rocky,
and the exposure lends itself to a great amount of wind. These
factors contribute to a unique flavor profile and a well structured
wine.

VINTAGE

2013 will go down as one of the earliest harvest in the
history of Thomas Fogarty Winery. The vines responded to the
drought like winter conditions and mild spring by budding out very
early. Bloom began in early May in the Will's Cabin Pinot Noir, a
month earlier than the norm. We experienced a particulary windy May
that was puntuated by a low pressure system that rolled through the
last week of the month dropping almost a quarter-inch of
rain. This severely lowered yields in some of our later flowering,
and best, vineyards: Rapley Trail, Albutom and Portola Springs.
Yields were also likely lower across the board due to the lack of
winter rainfall the last two seasons. The majority of our vineyards
were dry-farmed this year. This resulted in thickers skins, more
tannin and great flavors, but likely less fruit - such is the trade
off between quality and quantity in viticulture. Harvest began with
the early ripening swan Pinot Noir in Will's Cabin on August 17
and, strangley, finished with Gewurztraminer on October
4.

TASTING NOTES

The most perfumed section of Rapley, with exotic and
intense spice and floral notes